Vista Investment Partners II LLC Makes New $754,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,346 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,158 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 352,750 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,871,000 after buying an additional 40,699 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $597,000. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $1,930,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.